The family of a 16-year-old boy gunned down by a Homestead police officer Thursday night wants to know why the officer shot him.
The incident occurred just after 11 p.m. at a Chevron station at Southwest 312th Street and U.S. 1.
Police said a gas station clerk used a silent alarm to call for help during a confrontation with Danny Cruz, 16.
“Some guy’s coming inside and asking for some medicine, and she’s telling (him) she (doesn’t) have the Tylenol. (He was) asking for Tylenol,” said Desiree Bara, a co-worker of the clerk. “And the guy’s asking for Motrin. He’s giving $1, and he asked for the dollar back.”
When officers arrived, they said they told Cruz to show his hands, which were in his pockets. When he didn’t comply, shots were fired, police said.
"Why shoot four rounds or five to an innocent child, a 16-year-old? Taser him. Don't shoot to kill. That's not right. It's not fair," said the teen's mother.
Cruz was a gifted student at Mavericks High, a charter school. Relatives said they want answers about his death.
“That’s all I want to know: Why?” said Cruz’s aunt, Ivonne Garcia.
“He was a loving brother and always caring, and I want to know why, as well,” said Cruz’s sister. “Why would they do this to him?”
“I hurt. I lost my best friend. I grew up with him,” said Pedro Cardona, a friend.
"He was a good kid," said Cruz's mother. "He hung around probably with the wrong kids. He'd never been in trouble with the law or nothing like that."
When asked whether there was a reason she could think of why her son would be carrying a gun, Cruz's mother said no. But that begs the question, why would he be posing with a friend holding a gun for his Facebook profile picture?
"Just posing, just to look cool," Cruz's mother said. "Even if it was possible that he did have the gun, he wasn’t there doing an armed robbery. He wasn’t there doing nothing. He was just purchasing something."
Miami-Dade police are combing through surveillance video from cameras at the gas station as they work to answer several questions, including whether Cruz ever pulled a gun, whether he threatened the clerk with a weapon, whether he was carrying a real gun and what made the officer shoot.
"To me, I felt like they didn't even give him a chance to even surrender or to talk to him," said Cruz's mother. "I want to see surveillance videos. I want to see whether what they say is true or not. This is the only way I will find out, and I want justice."
